Warner Bros. boss David Zaslav: ‘Content is more powerful than armies’

Christopher Rosen
·3 min read
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Movies, now more than ever? Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav sought to rally the troops on Tuesday at CinemaCon in Las Vegas, proclaiming “content is more powerful than armies” and reiterating his company’s commitment to theatrical exhibition.

“We do not believe in streaming movies,” Zaslav was quoted as saying by Deadline. “Movies [in theaters] perform substantially better when we bring them to HBO Max than any of the direct-to-streaming movies. We said it nine months ago, and we said it six months ago. We have never felt stronger about it.”

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If that sounds like a shot at the previous Warner Bros. regime, that’s because it could be taken in such a fashion. Before being acquired by Zaslav’s Discovery, then-WarnerMedia boss Jason Kilar spearheaded a day-and-date release strategy that put top Warner Bros. movies in theaters and on HBO Max simultaneously. But that gambit, which obviously curtailed ticket sales as theaters were struggling during the height of the coronavirus pandemic, stopped after the 2021 slate of titles. 

In the last two years, Warner Bros. has sought to drive its movies to theaters. But the results have been mixed. Last year, the studio had great success with “Elvis,” but “Black Adam” flopped. (Olivia Wilde’s “Don’t Worry Darling,” the other major Warner Bros. 2022 title, was a tabloid sensation and grossed $87 million worldwide.)This year, Warner Bros. has released “Shazam! Fury of the Gods” to underwhelming ticket sales and last week’s horror success “Evil Dead Rise.” Bigger titles are on the horizon, including “The Flash,” “Barbie,” “Dune Part Two,” and “Wonka.”

“There’s no purer form of storytelling than the motion picture business,” Zaslav said, adding his company is “not in the retail business, not in cable, not broadband, not phone. We are just storytellers.”

Speaking of the slate of features coming to theaters, Zaslav told CinemaCon attendees, “We are up to 16 movies, and we want to do more than 20 [a year]. We are all in over the next couple of years with motion picture storytelling, but we do need your help.”

CinemaCon is an annual trade show where an audience of theater owners and assembled press get to hear about why movies rule. Studios bring talent and footage from upcoming titles to generate buzz – and Warner Bros. was no different. On Tuesday, stars such as Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling for “Barbie,” Timothee Chalamet and Zendaya for “Dune Part Two,” Chalamet for “Wonka,” and others appeared on stage to cheerlead the Warner Bros. slate. Later on Tuesday, Warner Bros. will also debut “The Flash,” months before its release. (Zaslav is a fan of that one and said he’s already seen it three times.) 

Zaslav said he hoped theater proprietors would “innovate the experience” and “focus on getting people into the theaters, in an environment that continues to be contemporary.” 

“A lot of what you are doing has been helping. If we can do that, this industry will be stronger than it’s ever been,” he said.

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